Big Help Out: Gardening, Clothes & Toy Swap, and Pancake Party at St Andrew’s

🌱 Join Us for Volunteering at St Andrew’s Church, Barnsbury Parish

UCL students will take part in a variety of hands-on activities on Saturday morning, helping the church support local families and maintain its community space. Students can choose from three activities:

1. Gardening Group – Help dig, plant, and weed around the church grounds as part of the monthly gardening group.
2. Clothes & Toy Swap – Assist in sorting and displaying donated adult and children’s clothes and toys for the weekly swap event.
3. Pancake Party – Support local families by helping with pancake cooking, craft activities, or games for children under supervision.

All tasks will be supervised by church staff or experienced volunteers, making this a safe, engaging, and collaborative volunteering experience.

St Andrew's Church, Barnsbury Parish, is an active community hub providing local families and residents with social, educational, and recreational opportunities. The church runs weekly activities, gardening projects, and community events that support wellbeing and foster connection.

All tasks will be supervised by church staff or experienced volunteers, making this a safe, engaging, and collaborative volunteering experience.

🧤 What’s a Big Help Out?

Big Help Outs are fun one-off volunteering opportunities that involve a big group. It’s all about small actions creating big change when we work together. At our events, you’ll always find friendly student and staff faces to make sure you feel welcome and supported.

💡 Why Join In?

You’ll help create a welcoming, well-run event for local families, support the church’s gardening efforts, and gain hands-on experience in community volunteering. Your help will directly enable St Andrew’s Church to maintain its grounds and deliver engaging activities for the community.

Lunch and refreshments, including savoury and sweet pancakes (with free-from options), tea, coffee, and soft drinks, will be provided on the day. 

To support your involvement, travel expenses will be reimbursed.

📍 Meet-Up Point

To make it easier to get involved, you can travel to the event with a member of our team. This is a great way to meet fellow volunteers, make new friends, and arrive together.

Meet Point: Bloomsbury Theatre Building at 9:30am

Please note: We will leave the Meet Point at 9:40am so please get there on time. If you do not wish to meet with the group, you can meet us directly at the location.

👥 What to Expect

Gardening: Digging, planting, weeding, and general outdoor maintenance.
Clothes & Toy Swap: Sorting and displaying donated clothes and toys for local residents.
Pancake Party: Cooking pancakes, helping with crafts or games with children (under supervision of parents and volunteers).

Some tasks involve light manual handling (e.g., lifting bags of clothes or garden waste). Safe lifting guidance will be provided on the day.

Tools: Gardening equipment (spades, forks, etc.) and cooking equipment for pancake making.

👕 What to Wear & Bring

• Gardening: warm, casual clothing and stout footwear suitable for outdoor work
• Indoor activities: no special clothing required; an apron may be useful for kitchen tasks
• Comfortable clothing for all tasks, prepared for potential mess

Want to explore more Big Help Out opportunities? Check out our Big Help Out Landing Page

Join our WhatsApp Announcement Community and get updates straight to your phone!

Note: If you join the announcement community your phone number will remain anonymous and it is not required for major updates on events. If you choose to join any Group Chats within the community, your phone number will be visible to other members.